Position in chronology
Anonymous Lagaš 26 (FAOS 05/1, AnLag 26)
Written in modern English
A ruler — whose name was proclaimed by Enlil, chosen by Nanše in her heart, and who made foreign lands submit to Ninĝirsu — is the subject here, but most of the surrounding text is lost. What remains describes how Ninĝirsu placed all lands in this ruler's hand and laid the rebellious lands at his feet. The lines before and after are too damaged to read.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSRI(i 1') ..., whose name was proclaimed by Enlil, chosen by Nanše in the heart, who makes the foreign lands submit to Ninĝirsu, ..., (when Ninĝirsu) placed all lands in his hand, and placed the rebellious lands at his feet, ....
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions — scholar edition (Vienna).
Scholarly note
Sumerian royal inscription, published in the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI) by Gábor Zólyomi and collaborators. Translation reproduced from the ETCSRI edition. ORACC text Q001194.
Attribution
Image: .
Translation excerpted from Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Royal Inscriptions (ETCSRI), University of Vienna, edited by Gábor Zólyomi et al. https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/Q001194/.
Related tablets
Related sources
The single most important literary discovery of the 19th century. It rewired the understanding of the Bible's literary context and proved that the Mesopotamian flood tradition is older. It is the oldest surviving epic poetry in human history.
The literary tradition is no longer anonymous from this point. Authorship — the idea that a specific human voice composes a specific work — enters the historical record with her.
The single most influential Mesopotamian king list — the model for every later attempt to chronicle the deep history of the region. It transmits the political theology of divinely granted kingship, an idea that would echo through Babylon, Assyria, and into the Hebrew Bible. The Weld-Blundell prism (WB 444) at the Ashmolean is the most complete surviving copy.